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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDocumentation_Regular_Tab 8F_3/6/1997 F Memorandum To: Village Council From: Thomas G. Bradford, Village Manager / Date: February 27, 1997 Subject: FPL Hills-Plumosus 138kV Transmission Line; Agenda Item Attached hereto, please find a copy of correspondence dated February 24, 1997, from Rod Macon, Regional Manager of FPL, regarding the above referenced subject. This letter seeks a response from Tequesta by March 10, 1997 . Accordingly, I would suggest that the Village Council authorize the Village Manager to respond to Mr. Macon in a letter which contains the following points : 1 . The expressions of the Village Council on September 30, 1996, were just that, expressions . The expressions of preference for transmission line location were made on the assumption that the FEC Railroad would be a good citizen and accommodate the desires of FPL and the Village of Tequesta in this regard. To the surprise of the Village Council, FEC Railroad responded negatively to FPL' s request which, in turn, caused the Village Council to take a formal position supporting the construction of the line along the east side of U. S. Highway One. 2 . In regard to the differential cost estimates for the two overhead pole line routes provided in your letter of February 24, 1997 , Tequesta responds sequentially to your noted differences, as follows : • The acquisition cost of the necessary land rights along the east side of U. S. Highway One to construct a transmission line there should not be the responsibility of Tequesta since such cost is a customary expense of providing a transmission line. You and Mr. Daniel Hronec came to the Tequesta Village Council to receive its input relative to transmission line location. The Village Council has provided you with a formal response preferring U. S . Highway One. For FPL to now require • Tequesta to pay such land rights expenses makes a farce of your attempt to seek community input on this important project. • The expenses to be incurred in the construction of the transmission line, regardless of location, should be borne entirely by FPL. • Having Tequesta bear the cost of transferring the existing distribution lines currently in place along • each route over to the new pole line is indicative of a complete lack of aesthetic consideration on the part of FPL and shortsightedness relative to the desires of the community-at-large. It should be the Corporate Policy of FPL to minimize the construction of new pole lines, whether distribution lines or transmission lines, in order to minimize the aesthetic impact of delivering power to the public. Of course, if it is FPL' s intent to line our transportation corridors with new poles just to make matters simple and less costly for FPL, then you can rest assured that public ' outcry will result in public policy to force future construction underground in all cases at FPL expense. • The costs incurred by FPL to previously secure easements along Old Dixie Highway which will not be utilized if construction takes place on U. S. Highway One as requested by the Tequesta Village Council, makes a mockery of your seeking Village input on the location decision. By having Tequesta pay the previous costs of easements along Old Dixie Highway is; an admission on the part of FPL of a predetermination in' the location of the transmission line, prior to seeking Village Council input on the same. 3 . In light of FPL' s contention that Tequesta must bear $413, 000 if it wishes to use the U. S. One route and the exorbitant estimate of $2 . 05 million for underground placement from Tequesta Drive to Village Boulevard along Old Dixie Highway, the Village Council has authorized the Tequesta Village Manager to secure engineering cost estimates from professional consultants in order to review the legitimacy of your estimates since such costs could result in assessments to adjacent property owners to cover the costs of bonds to fund such. 4 . Should FPL continue to insist upon the placement of overhead transmission lines on Old Dixie Highway from Alternate AlA to County Line Road, it is the present position of the Tequesta Village Council that its full P-9-;L3 VI resources and attention, including litigation, be directed r- to thwarting FPL' s efforts in this regard. 5 . In a related matter, please be advised that Tequesta is supportive of the efforts of the Town of Jupiter to insist upon the placement of this same transmission line where it is intended to cross the Loxahatchee River in such a manner that the proposed transmission line is not visible to pedestrians and vehicular occupants as they traverse on Alternate AlA in order to preserve the historical vista associated with the Loxahatchee River, Jupiter Inlet, and the Jupiter Lighthouse. • In light of the March 10 deadline established by Mr. Macon in his letter of February 24, I have decided to place this item on the agenda for— the Village Council Meeting scheduled for March 6, 1997 . I look forward to discussing the FPL letter and Tequesta ' s proposed response in detail with you at that time. TGB/krb Attachment 7�uncii\022797.aam 3 } Florida Power&Light Company, P.O.Box 8768,West Palm Beach,FL 33407-0768 FPL Village c-i?'eq eta. February 24, 1997 • FEB 2 6 1997 Mr. Thomas G. Bradford, Village Manager Village Manager S Office 1 Village of Tequesta P.O. Box 3273 Tequesta, FL 33469-0273 Re: Hills-Plumosus 138 kV Transmission Line • Dear Mr. Bradford: You will recall that Mr. Daniel Hronec and I first discussed this project with the Village of Tequesta Council at a workshop on September 30, 1996. On that evening, the Council indicated that it supported FPL's intention to obtain an easement from the FEC Railroad in order to locate this line on FEC property west of Old Dixie Highway between Tequesta Drive and County Line Road. Furthermore, as acknowledged in our letter of October 30 to you, the Council stated on September 30 its preference, in the event the FEC Railroad wouldn't grant the necessary easement, to have this line sited on the east side of Old Dixie Highway rather than placing it anywhere along US 1 . We appeared again before your Council on January 9, 1997, to advise you that we were unable to obtain the necessary easement from FEC to construct the line within the FEC property on the west side of Old Dixie, and, as such, then reiterated our contingency plan to build the line on the east side of Old Dixie in road right-of- way. Your Village Council responded negatively and passed a resolution supporting the construction of the line along the east side of US 1 . Mr. Hronec and I agreed to take the Council's input back to our project team and FPL management and to have cost estimates prepared per your Council's requests. We have performed two differential cost estimates. The first is for the "Old Dixie" and "US 1 " routes. The "Old.Dixie" route enters Tequesta from Jupiter and runs along the east side of Old Dixie to County Line Road, then east along the north side of County Line Road in Martin County to the existing FPL Hills substation. The "US 1 " route enters Tequesta from Jupiter and runs along the east side of US 1 to County Line Road, then west a short distance along the north side of County Line Road to the existing Hills substation. Both estimates are for overhead construction using concrete poles. The second estimate, as requested by Councilman Capretta, is for constructing approximately 2600 feet of the "Old Dixie" route underground along the east side of the road between Tequesta Drive and Village Boulevard. an FPL Group company • Mr. Thomas G. Bradford, Village Manager Page 2 The differential cost estimate for the two overhead pole line routes takes the following into account: (1) the acquisition cost of the necessary land rights along the east side of US 1 to construct a transmission line there, (2) the expenses to be incurred in construction of the transmission line, (3) the cost of transferring the existing distribution lines currently in place along each route over to the new pole line, and (4) the costs incurred by FPL to previously secure easements along Old Dixie Highway which would not be utilized if construction were to take place on US 1 . The estimated cost for the US 1 route is approximately $413,000 greater than the Old Dixie route. The estimated additional cost for the underground section along the portion of Old • Dixie Highway previously mentioned is approximately $2.05 million. This estimate does not include the cost of private easement rights should they be required. One extremely critical point must be expressed about the land rights necessary along the US 1 route. Due to conflicts with other existing utilities in place under the sidewalk, FPL will not be able to construct this line section within the US 1 right-of-way. Therefore, without the rights needed to place the new transmission poles in private property along this route, this alternative cannot be accomplished. It is uncertain at this time whether the adjacent landowners will be willing to provide easements to FPL for this alternative. We believe this should answer the questions asked of us by the Village Council on January 9. At this stage, due to the additional costs associated. with the US 1 route or the underground alternative, it is our position that any further consideration of the alternative routes by FPL will require a commitment from the Village of Tequesta to pay for the differential cost for that alternative, conditional on the success of the acquisition of the necessary land rights. Construction of this project is scheduled to begin in July 1997. Accordingly, it is very important that we know as soon as possible if the Village is willing to pay for either alternative. We would appreciate a response by March 10. If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to call me. Sincerely, (2SLIAAa,cev\ Rod Macon Regional Manager RM/tw